Design Elements, 2nd Edition

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TEXT

the world of image

204

Photography The “pure” photographic

image has become the preeminent form of

imagery used in visual communciations

in recent years. One reason for this might

be the speed at which photographs transmit

information—their realism and direct-

ness allow a viewer to enter the image and

process it very quickly, rather than get

distracted by abstract pictorial issues such

as texture, medium, and composition.

Access speed in imagery has become im-

portant because the flood of visual

messages encountered by the average view-

er requires images to compete robustly

for attention; the faster a viewer is able to

recognize an image’s subject and under-

stand its significance, it may be reasoned,

the more likely they are to invest continued

attention—or, at the very least, retain some

information if they decide to move on.

While composition plays an important

role in the quality of the photographic

image and its messaging potential, its

presence as a mediating phenomenon is

much harder to recognize and, therefore,

is often overlooked on a conscious level by

the viewer. This suggests another reason

for the primacy of photographs as commu-

nicators: the fact of the image’s mediation

(or manipulation)—through composition,

selective focus, lighting, cropping, and

As with any other imagery,

photographic content must

be decisively composed. The

photographer has two opportuni-

ties to control the image’s compo-

sition, however: first, within the

frame of the camera’s viewfinder;

and second, during the printing

process in the darkroom (or in

cropping a digital photograph

using software). In this study, a

minor shift in camera angle pro-

duces a variation on an already

decisive composition of elements

(A, B). Radically changing the

viewpoint (C) creates a very differ-

ent composition while retaining

the identity of the content.

A B C

MEDIA AND METHODS

Clean, neutral daylight and

meticulous styling capture the

the product’s wholesome and

sensuous qualities; the intimate

cropping exudes warmth and

honesty.

WALLACE CHURCH

UNITED STATES

Along with their common full-frame use, photographic

images also may be used as independent elements within

collages or in concert with typography.

MANUEL ESTRADA SPAIN

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